History WebVideo / AcquisitionsIncorporated

[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/acquisitions_incorporated_logo_3469.png]]
[[caption-width-right:210:Always be branding, people.]]

->''"Once again, the time has come for four heroes to straddle the throbbing heart... of danger!"''
-->-- '''Introduction to "The Lost Episode"'''

''[[http://www.acq-inc.com/ Acquisitions Incorporated]]'' is a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' party starring in a series of online adventures since 2008, originally in podcast format but nowadays mainly published on Website/YouTube. A collaboration between ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' and Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast, the series was originally created to showcase the then-new 4th Edition of ''D&D'', but soon evolved into something of an improvisational ComicFantasy thanks to the fun dynamics between the players and excellent {{Dungeon Master}}ing by the [=WotC=] producer Chris Perkins.

The plot centers on the (mis)adventures of the eponymous Acquisitions Inc., a RagtagBunchOfMisfits banded together in a pseudo-corporate formation on [[PunchClockHero a quest for fame and wealth]]. Originally consisting of TheLeader Omin Dran ([[Webcomic/PennyArcade Jerry Holkins]]), TheBigGuy Binwin Bronzebottom ([[Webcomic/PvP Scott Kurtz]][[note]]who retired after season 10, taking Binwin with him[[/note]]), and TheSmartGuy Jim Darkmagic ([[Webcomic/PennyArcade Mike Krahulik]]), they were later ([[GuestStarPartyMember temporarily]]) joined by a number of [[TheIntern corporate "interns"]], a full list of whom and their associated tropes can be found on the [[Characters/AcquisitionsIncorporated characters page]].

The series began as podcasts, available for {{Archive Trawl}}ing at the [[https://dnd.wizards.com/dungeon-delve/podcast-hub official WotC website]], before transitioning to live events at Penny Arcade Expo around the United States, which can nowadays be most easily viewed on Website/YouTube. All adventures to date are listed in their [[http://www.acq-inc.com/portfolio official Portfolio]], as well as our own [[Recap/AcquisitionsIncorporated recap]] and [[Timeline/AcquisitionsIncorporated timeline pages]].

Related media include:

* A ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' spin-off podcast was produced in 2010, between ''[=AcqInc=]'' seasons 3 and 4, to showcase the eponymous newly-resurrected campaign setting. It did not feature the characters of Acquisitions Incorporated, with Jerry serving as the DM in place of Chris and Kris Straub subbing in for the absent Creator/{{Wil|Wheaton}} (whose character Aoefel was still dead following the events of season 3).
* ''Acquisitions Incorporated: The Series'', which forms a sort of extended season 10 leading up to a live finale at PAX West 2016, aired at [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/show/acquisitions-incorporated-the-series Penny Arcade TV]] between June 8 and August 24, 2016.
* ''[[http://www.acq-inc.com/cteam Acquisitions Incorporated: The "C" Team]]'' is a spinoff series featuring Amy Falcone, Kate Welch, Kris Straub, and Ryan Hartman, DM'd by Jerry and presented in association with Creator/HyperRPG. The first season aired weekly on the [[https://www.twitch.tv/hyperrpg HyperRPG Twitch.tv channel]] from March to November 2017, with the second one premiering in January 2018. A fan by the name of Zee Bashew has also produced a series of [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuNLwLRy7g-gqLLBAltHkhNcpsJ9MYOCH semi-official animated shorts]] based on select scenes from the live episodes.
* ''WebVideo/ForceGrey: Giant Hunters'' campaign finale tied in with the ''[=AcqInc=]'' PAX West 2016 live game, taking place at Stratovar's castle right after Omin's party leaves.
* ''WebVideo/DiceCameraAction'', also [=DMed=] by Chris, lent out its party member Strix (played by Holly Conrad) to ''[=AcqInc=]'' for a couple of episodes, and Omin Dran comes to their show a season later. The entire party from this show also end up in a full crossover with the "C" Team which was dubbed "Waffles Inc."
* ''VideoGame/CardHunter'' has received an official ''Acquisitions Inc.''-themed ExpansionPack in [[http://www.cardhunter.com/2016/04/acquisitions-incorporated-opens-its-cardhuntria-office/ April 2016]], containing six custom adventures that you can play through as Omin, Binwin, and Jim (watch the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D3v9jiUXAU here]]).
* ''[[Webcomic/BinwinsMinions Binwin's Minions]]''. Following Scott's [[http://pvponline.com/news/binwins-minions departure]] from the show, a new, independent franchise starring Binwin was announced. It consists of a webcomic [[http://tabletitans.com/binwins-minions/binwins-minions-page-1 published]] by Scott alongside (and crossing over with) both ''Webcomic/TableTitans'' and ''Webcomic/PvP'', and, as of PAX South 2017, a hybrid RPG/puzzle video game tying in with the comic.
----
!!Tropes:

* AccidentalInnuendo: Invoked in a couple of PAX live games:
** Season 4:
--->'''Omin:''' So go bang on her!\\
'''Aeofel:''' Wait, what?\\
'''Omin:''' I mean with your sword.\\
'''Binwin:''' Huh?\\
'''Omin:''' No, I mean with a weapon!
** Season 5:
--->'''Chris:''' It's been several years since you had to ''"mount"'' Cronk.\\
'''Jim:''' Well, I have a girlfriend now...
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: Season 7 gave us the gem "''You bluntly bash her bark-covered body''".
* AdventureGuild: While [=AqcInc=] started as a single party, with the start of ''The 'C' Team'' and subsequent reveal of at least two other "Franchises" (Read: Parties) promotes them to a full-fledged Adventuring Guild.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: In season 6, the Drow girl speaks in French. [[LampshadeHanging Blocked by the DM]] when the players translate her French.
-->'''Wil:''' So, she said she wants our help to steal the eye?\\
'''Chris:''' You have no idea.
* AllJustADream: ''The "C" Team'' has a RunningGag-slash-ParanoiaFuel bit that the party has never actually left Jim's illusory world wherein they had been trapped for the first three episodes of the show, and so all of their adventures since then have just been an epic dream.
* AllThereInTheManual: The official Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast podcast did a few episodes about converting the Acquisitions Incorporated characters to ''D&D Next'', which helps explain why everyone's abilities have changed so drastically between seasons 5 and 6. Among other things, the mechanics for Wizards were still in early beta, the new Fighter mechanics were very different, and Aeofel is technically a Cleric because an Avenger class/build hadn't been designed yet.
* ArcWelding: Chris took the story of Omin's sister, which Jerry probably invented on the spot in season 4, and [[spoiler:actually introduced his sister into the plot in the end of season 8]].
* ArmCannon: The eponymous [[HumongousMecha Ark of the Mad Mage]] from season 7 has a bright green gemstone set into its right hand. Said gemstone, when activated, fires a ray of green flame[[note]]GREEN FLAME![[/note]] that does massive damage. Which turns out to be useful since the climax of the adventure involves [[spoiler: [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever the Tarrasque]]]].
* TheAssimilator: The myconid colony wastes no time incorporating the "C" Team into is consciousness. Granted, the players plug themselves in voluntarily, and are released after they help the colony defend against some attackers from Underdark. The overall experience is actually surprisingly nice for the team, so much so that some of them even begin voluntarily using the colony's catch phrase (without any explicit prompting from Jerry, who is very happy about it):
-->''"We are joy."''
* AssShove:
** Implied by thankfully not spelled out by Chris in regards to where the Darkmagics' golem family lawyer keeps the stone tablet with James Darkmagic's will on it.
** During "How Not To Host A Murder", Jim is killed and his soul is sucked into a gemstone. At the end of this and into "ISTAR Facilities" immediately afterward, the players joke about how the soul (and the gemstone) had to be, ah, forcibly reinserted into Jim's body.
** For most of ''The Series'', Jim keeps a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts safely, as Mike puts it, "keistered".
* AudienceParticipation:
** In the very first live game in season 4, the DM asked the audience to vote via phone messages to determine what the party had to do to activate the portal to Hell, whom the fire ballistas fired at (thrice), and which monster would be the final boss of the game.
** As the party descended into Halaster's labyrinth in season 7, Chris came up with a way for the audience to participate in live events: whenever someone at the table said "green flame" or mentioned fire of said color in any way or form, the entire crowd was supposed to echo it (which, apparently, is a reference to ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina''). By season 8, it seems to have become a meme, since every fire in the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms is now apparently colored green--to the delight of the cheering (and diligently participating) audience.
** In season 9 part 2, Chris lures the audience to imitate the pitiful cries of the svirfneblin being slaughtered, and the crowd runs with the idea so well, the players are mightily creeped out.
** ''The "C" Team'' has Twitch chat members, referred to as "the Shadow Council", send hashtags to earn the use of advantages for the players; and they're also polled to determine aspects of the game itself (such as which choice of two enemy types the players will fight in a later encounter).
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: At the end of "Ark of the Mad Mage", [[spoiler:Omin]] is made a Masked Lord of Waterdeep.
* BabyMorphEpisode: At the first PAX Unplugged game, a stray curse by the nine {{Trickster God}}s of Ommu turns Omin, Jim, and Viari into the 8 years-old versions of themselves for the rest of the episode and into the following PAX South game. Rosie, being as old as she is, is mostly unaffected by the curse (simply going from ''really'' old to just very old).
* BackForTheDead: In season 9, [[spoiler:Danielle the Drow]], last seen three seasons ago, comes back but is killed by Drizzt Do'Urden at the end of the episode.
* BackupBluff: Taking advantage of Percy's inability to perceive fey, Jim tries to do this in season 5. It doesn't work.
-->'''Jim:''' Percy! You are ''surrounded'' by my fey army... of ''fey'' warriors! [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment They are all fey.]]
* BadassBoast:
** Aeofel, all alone in hell, facing [[BigBad Cetrine Ambershard]] and a Devil lording over a fortress full of minions and artillery, makes numerous claims of how he will extract a price in blood from all of them.
--->'''Cetrine:''' Acquisitions Incorporated will be a footnote in the pages of history!\\
'''Aeofel:''' Acquisitions Incorporated will not be a footnote, Acquisitions Incorporated will write the book!
** Jerry/Omin is pretty good at these.
--->'''Omin:''' Percival, let me save you a lot of time. We're better than you. Each of us, individually, are better than you. If we all hit you at once, you will explode.
* BagOfHolding: The party acquire one in season 1, although it doesn't feature in later campaigns.
* BaitAndSwitchComparison: The Gargoyles in season 9 have this to say about Viari:
-->''What's the difference between that guy and a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flumph flumph]]? ...one is a spineless gasbag, and the other is a flumph!''
* BaldWomen: Auspicia Dran is so focused on business, she "doesn't have time for hair".
* BaseOnWheels: The Darkmagic family manor (which isn't actually on wheels; it "merely" teleports).
* BeardOfEvil: The first episode of ''The Series'' opens with a discussion of all facial growth being a sign of evilness (including it being the telltale sign distinguishing Omin's hypothetical EvilTwin from the real thing).
* BigDamnHeroes:
** Splug, the temporarily foe-turned friend goblin employee, pulls one at the climax of season 1 where he saves the party from another defeat.
** Done epically in season 4, where right after the bad guy has taunted Aeofel about his friends having abandoned him, the party appears on a hell beast to rescue him.
** Finally outdone in season 8, when [[spoiler:Viari, of all people, rejoins the party, who were trapped inside Dragonspear Castle, ''and'' brings a CoolAirship with him]].
* ABirthdayNotABreak: Seems to be a recurring theme:
** The entire season 6 misadventure in the lizardmen temple takes place on Aeofel's 142nd birthday.
** The first mini-episode of season 10, meanwhile, takes place at Jim's 40th birthday party.
** The season 11 opener concerns the acquisition of Whelm a present for Omin's birthday.
* BlatantLies: After hiring Viari as their new intern, the guys try not to mention what happened to their last one.
-->'''Binwin:''' We will always, always... protect our friends.\\
'''Jim:''' Don't worry. Your safety is our number one priority.\\
'''Omin:''' It has been ''zero'' days since our last intern death.
* BlackComedy: Shows up from time to time. Some of the side-effects of the party's ride in the Halaster statue conveniently gets swept under the rug, as an example.
-->"Those orphans didn't have any parents anyway."
* BlofeldPloy: Pulled off by Rosie (on Chris' suggestion) against the last two Red Wizards, when Omin tells her to murder one of them (both are helpless, but he wants to interrogate one), but lets her pick which. After some deliberation, she approaches the one that attacked the party unprovoked earlier, then strikes and kill the other one in the last second, saying that death is too good for the first one.
* BoastfulRap: ''The "C" Team'' intro song has lines like:
-->''They see you bleed, they come like sharks to it\\
While I swim in that money bin like Creator/CarlBarks drew it\\
So send your National Parks druid,\\
I'll send them home in a natural box, with a closed top and most of the parts included!''
* BolivianArmyEnding: Never used in-game, but Jerry believes that all adventures should conclude with...
-->"You look up. It is a mouth."
** The PAX South 2017 game ends with an NPC, Amander Deadrose, holding off two fire Ifreet while [=AcqInc=] takes Whelm the warhammer to safety. None of the team is happy about leaving her to her probable death, with Pat/Viari being the most broken up about it; and this is used as the excuse why he doesn't take part in the following PAX East game.
* BondOneLiner:
** After Viari is (almost) crushed to death by the falling Beholder tank in season 9, one of the gargoyles quips:
-->"For a musician, he sounds kind of flat!"
** And later on in ''The Series'' Part 1, he gets one of his own:
-->"How'd you like that on my resumé!"
** ''The Series'' Part 2 has Viari on the receiving end of one (again) that doubles as a WhamLine, when he is reduced to 0 hit points by [[spoiler:Aeofel]]:
-->"[[spoiler: [[CatchPhrase How does 19 work for]] ''you''?]]"
* BorrowedCatchphrase: Mike's CatchPhrase is "Jim winks", but Wil occasionally borrows it for Aeofel, usually directed at Jim himself.
* BreakingInOldHabits:
-->'''DM:''' When the rod touches [the remains of] your arm, you grow a new arm.\\
'''Mike:''' ''What!?'' Does it look like his old arm?\\
'''DM:''' ...Nah.\\
'''Scott[=/=]Binwin:''' Viari -- jerk off with that tonight. I bet it feels different.\\
'''Pat:''' ''[singing] Feels like the fiiirst time...''
* BreakingTheFourthWall: In Episode 6, Wil [[AsideComment deliberately mugs to the audience]] after pointing out a new feature in ''D&D Next'', in mock shill. And is then disappointed when the DM won't reward him with a bonus on his next roll.
* BrickJoke: At the start of season 7, the then-newcomer Viari throws a few probing stones at Binwin and Jim, calling Omin out on his BadBoss tendencies (behind his back, of course), but it doesn't go anywhere, as Omin is able to maintain an iron grip on his employees. Come season 9, where [[spoiler:Omin's sister Auspicia plans to buy out and restructure Omin's company]], and the entire party is openly questioning the previous policies when made aware of alternatives, and Omin becomes increasingly irritable, as he feels his control over it slipping, going as far as snap at Viari for showing too independent thoughts.
* BriefAccentImitation:
** Omin, when yelling for the French-speaking Danielle to find the switch that controls the acid trap in Ep 6.
-->'''Omin:''' S'il vous plait!
** When Drizzt finally makes his appearance in season 9, Mike mispronounces his surname as "O'Durden", pushing the whole table into a brief bout of UsefulNotes/IrishAccents.
-->'''Binwin:''' Oooh, it's Drizzt O'Durden... Dontcha 'now? With my twin shillelaghs!
** Jerry[=/=]Omin is made to briefly adopt a Southern USA accent every time he speaks in-character while disguised in Season 11 Part 1 (which took place at PAX South).
* TheBroCode: Apparently, there is one between Jim and Omin, as Jim is (very tangentially) concerned about violating it by sleeping with Omin's sister.
* ButtMonkey: Jeff, the manager of the Baldur's Gate chapter in season 9, gets far too much flak from the founding members for things he had very little impact for. Viari seems to be the only one with some sympathy for him, and [[spoiler:even that doesn't save him from Jim's elaborate scheme to have him killed]].
* CallBack:
** Viari's ISTAR Facility in season 10 has a room dedicated to Aeofel, his predecessor in TheIntern position. The Facility is a maze of various traps and tests, and this particular room has a giant acid pit trap in it (too bad it isn't finished yet).
** ''The "C" Team'' has a ''lot'' of callbacks to the original series, given how the entire campaign seems to have grown out of Jerry's desire to apply RealityEnsues to the improvised comedy he and the others have created on-stage. Perhaps one of the most obscure call-backs was the cask of trippy Zaggernezzar beer the party receives in "Last Stone's Day", which is a callback to the 2016 Christmas Special, which is the only non-free installment of ''[=AcqInc=]'' so far, drastically reducing the number of people who have watched it.
* TheCameo:
** Music/PaulAndStorm (a.k.a. the Minstrels from season 5) make a brief appearance in season 8, helping to remove the Dragonspear Castle diorama. Then Paul comes back to take a group selfie with Morgan, Jerry, and [[spoiler:Pat]].
** Minsc and Boo from ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' join Acquisitions Incorporated as interns in season 9 and defend their chapterhouse against Elemental Evil.
* TheCaper: Part One of ''The Series'' sees the party breaking into a secure, heavily-guarded vault to acquire [[spoiler:a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts]] and thwart Auspicia Dran's plan to acquire Acquisitions Incorporated.
* CapeSnag: When Viari fails his Dex save to get out from underneath the falling Beholder tank, Pat ad-libs his failure to be a consequence of V's fabulous cape getting snagged by the falling tank and then pulling the rogue after it.
* CardboardBoxOfUnemployment: PlayedForLaughs in season 10, where the BadBoss Omin learns that one of his underlings unwittingly assisted in Viari pulling a fast one on him. Omin has this to say to his (now ex-)employee:
-->'''Omin''': Put everything you like and care about in a box, and when I come back, we will talk about what happens to the box.
* ChekhovsSkill:
** Soon after [[spoiler:Viari's return in season 8]], he gains Inspiration, allowing him or any party member reroll a single d20 later on. It ends up saving Omin's life during the final confrontation.
** In the finale of season 10, [[spoiler:Viari uses his revival song -- unused since their trip to the Undermountain (when he used it to resurrect Jim) -- to bring Binwin back to life]].
* CityWithNoName: It is never explained where exactly season 6 (a.k.a. "[[LampshadeHanging The Lost Episode]]") takes place. In the end of season 5, the party travels from their home plane (the TabletopGame/NentirVale, as established very early in season 1) to the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms, but something goes wrong and they wake up in a strange temple. Season 7 explains that the Darkmagic Estate crash landed near Waterdeep, so it can be presumed that the lizardmen found it while the party was out cold and dragged them to their temple. On the other hand, Omin's divine spells still work as if they were on their home plane (Avandra has no presence in the Realms, causing him to briefly lose his powers in season 7), while Danielle the Drow somehow speaks actual French, additionally implying a connection of the place to RealLife... Season 9 [[spoiler:sees Danielle return in the Underdark, lending credence to TLE taking place on Faerun, but the questions of Omin and Aeofel's divine powers and Danielle's French are still open]].
* {{Cliffhanger}}:
** "Dragons Over Easy" ends with [[spoiler:the party attempting to sneak out of Dragonspear Castle with a clutch of eggs, past a green dragon and its minions... only to run head-on into a ''second'' green dragon]]. This was a result of the event running fifteen minutes over ''before'' the party had reached the final encounter.
** Similarly, "Playing With Fire" ends with Portentia [[spoiler:Dran revealing that her and Omin's ''other'' sister sent her as advance recon in preparation for buying out Acquisitions Incorporated from him]].
** Jerry is fond of ending episodes of ''The "C" Team'' this way, usually eliciting cries of protest from Amy and Kate.
* ContentWarnings: Most published recordings of AI's sessions are prefaced by a warning along the lines of "This podcast features adults, using adult language. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned." The only ones that aren't are the ''"C" Team'' streams and the very first three podcasts of season 1.
* ContinuityCreep: While the series has never been particularly episodic, most of its early episodes could be watched standalone, but starting about season 8, Chris began re-introducing characters from the earlier episodes, creating a much more cohesive continuity, such as [[spoiler:Omin's sister(s) from season 4, Danielle the Drow from season 6, and Percival Darkmagic from season 5]]. And then [[spoiler:Aeofel comes back as a bad guy and almost kills Viari]] in ''The Series'' "Part 2". Furthermore, all episodes since the cliffhanger reveal at the end of ''The Series'' Episode 8 comprise an on-going Dran Enterprises arc, which concerns [[spoiler:Omin's older sister]]'s plans to buy out Acquisitions Incorporated from Omin and shows no signs of winding down. ''The "C" Team'' is also continuity-heavy, as Jerry has stated it was made with the intention to explore his own ''AI'' headcanon.
* ContinuityNod: At the start of season 9, the guys moor their battle balloon near a plinth that seems to be the base of a statue which isn't there. This is a reference to the current ''Legends of Baldur's Gate'' comic series, in which a statue of Minsc and Boo is accidentally transformed into the actual heroes. This is also subtle foreshadowing of their eventual appearance later in the adventure.
* CoolAirship: The Acquisitions Incorporated Battle Balloon from season 8.
* CoolVersusAwesome: The season 9 finale title, "Darkmagic vs. Do'Urden", invokes this, [[spoiler:but since Jim is very reluctant to actually fight [[Literature/TheDarkElfTrilogy Drizzt]], Omin is the one who ultimately breaks the evil's hold on him (after taking the brunt of his damage)]].
* CowboyEpisode: The season 11 intro casts the main characters as Old West outlaws, complete with an awesome blues theme: Môrgæn the "[[FastestGunInTheWest Fastest Shaft in the West]]", "[[Series/HaveGunWillTravel Have Lute, Will Travel]]" Viari, Big Jim "[[TheGunslinger The Wandslinger]]" Darkmagic, Omin "[[TheDrifter High Planes Drifter]]" Dran, and Chris "Cheats At Dice" Perkins as [[MysteriousStranger The DM In Black]].
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: The idiotic SurferDude, Rad Longhammer, is able to defeat a couple of guards while unarmed and [[WithMyHandsTied shackled]].
* CurbStompBattle: In "Dragons Over Easy", thanks to a combination of the DM's amazing rolls and the party's poor ones, the villains ambush the party, kill Jim, and down Binwin and Môrgæn[[note]]They get better[[/note]]... ''before'' any of them can take a single action.
* DarthVaderClone: ''The Series'' Part Two introduces a mysterious Dran Enterprises employee (revealed at the end to be [[spoiler:Aeofel]]) with robes, a masked face, and a glowing magic sword. When describing him, Chris flat-out said that he basically looks like [[Film/TheForceAwakens Kylo Ren]].
* DeathByIrony: [[BigBad Citrine Ambershard]] dies in an acid pit just like Aeofel did in her manor, much to his amusement.
* DeathIsCheap: This being ''D&D'', the party members come back from the dead with increasing ease as they grow in level. The first party death, Aoefel in season 3, had been a major event, with the entirety of season 4 dedicated to bringing him back. Since then, Jim died ''trice'' (by a succubus in season 7, by wyvern in season 8, and by a plot device in season 10), Binwin was mauled to death by an ancient dragon in ''The Series'', and Viari had his neck snapped by Drizzt in season 10, although this may have not been canon. This leaves Omin pretty much the only regular with a clean death record, despite several near-death experiences. Subverted in Season 11, where anyone who had come back from death (in this case, Jim) is now suffering a necrotic curse and the team is tasked with resolving it.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After defeating Irontooth and his lackeys, the only surviving goblin, Splug, pledges his loyalty to the party, if only so they won't kill him. He proves his worth later in the campaign.
-->'''Jim:''' Have we room for a new hire?
* DeliberateInjuryGambit: It's a common tactic of the team for Binwin to charge in and get surrounded, whereupon Jim drops a fireball on all of them, Binwin included. Binwin is not always in on this plan but generally comes out of it looking better than the bad guys. This happened so often in Season 1 that the players joked it was an all-purpose plan: "When in doubt, set the dwarf on fire." In fact by Season 3, they've learned to use it to their advantage, where Binwin gets temp hit points when he gets wounded, and Jim gets better stats to hit enemies if his friends are in the field of attack.
* DePower: The age-reducing curse in the first Unplugged live game has a nasty side effect of dramatically dropping the afflicted party members' damage output and, more importantly, their maximum HP, meaning that a single regular magic missile instantly brings all of them down.
* DisturbedDoves: Seeing how the dove trick is a staple of Jim's act, he also tends to summon them in droves at dramatic moments just for the RuleOfCool.
* TheDogBitesBack: Jeff, who dies due to Jim's manipulation in season 9, comes back as [[spoiler:a giant magic-resistant golem]] to almost kill Jim in season 10.
* DoesNotLikeMen: Portentia implies this much about her and Omin's big sister, Auspicia, when Jim announces his plans to seduce her.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: Part 2 of season 8 is titled "Five Heads are Better than None". At first, it was thought to be a reference to the Tyranny of Dragons metaplot (which revolves around the Cult of the Dragon trying to free [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiamat_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons) Tiamat]], the five-headed dragon goddess) that the game ties into, but it also foreshadowed [[spoiler:the return of Viari, which bumped the party ''head''count up to five]].
* DownerEnding:
** At the end of season three, [[spoiler:the party hasn't helped Barton or Hammerfast, neither of the chief villains have been captured or defeated, and Aeofel is dead.]]
** In the ending of ''The Series'' "Part 2", [[spoiler:Aeofel assaults and severely wounds Viari, Binwin dies, Jim get teleported away from the party, and a legendary White Dragon kills and devours nearly everyone else in their strike party (though they were mostly Dran Enterprises mooks... and Percy).]]
** At the end of season 11 part 1, [[spoiler:the party has potentially left a proud and good-hearted warrior (plus Chippy the Owlbear) to die holding off two powerful genies and Omin is suddenly told his sisters are both dead.]] Omin is said to be looking as sad as he was at the start.
* DracoLich: Towards the end of ''Ark of the Mad Mage'', the party runs into a skeletal dragon, prompting Scott to ask Jerry "[[TemptingFate What is a dracolich, by the way?]]" Jerry's reaction: "[[ThisIsGonnaSuck That is a draco-fucking-lich, yes.]]" [[spoiler:It turns out to be just a reanimated dragon, not an actual D&D dracolich, however.]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The original podcast series (a.k.a. season 1) was recorded to help teach players about 4th Edition rather than purely for entertainment value. Wil/Aeofel wasn't with the party yet, the others were still learning the rules and feeling out their characters, and the second half of the adventure is [=DMed=] by James Wyatt (one of the lead designers on 4E) instead of Chris Perkins.
* {{Elfeminate}}: The group makes the occasional joke revolving around this trope mentioning how Aeofel is fey, how they have a "don't ask don't tell" policy, or how Aeofel is a pretty boy. Wheaton (Aeofel's player) for his part embraces and defends the trope.
-->'''Chris:''' Hey Wil, do you want the Elf [figurine] that looks like a girl, or the Eladrin that looks like a girl?\\
'''Wheaton:''' I want the-- Listen, here's the thing about elves: Elves are the Eladrin's [[FantasticRacism hillbilly cousins]]. So I'll take the ''Eladrin'' that looks like a girl, thank you very much, because we ''deserve'' to look and feel pretty.
* EpicFail:
** In Season 2, a string of bad rolls by Jerry culminates during the final battle. With half the party knocked out and their backs against the wall, Omin breaks out a desperation Encounter Power to finish off the BigBad... and rolls a natural 1. Aeofel uses his Divine Intervention power to grant him a re-roll... and Jerry rolls ''another'' natural 1.
--> '''Mike''': Oh my fucking god! Punch him in the dickhole! Get your dick out! Get your dick out, and you [Wil] ''punch'' him in it! What the fuck is ''wrong'' with you?! God!! Is that a zero, what is that, it's just a picture! You did it twice in a row! You are the worst D&D player ''ever''!
** In season 5:
--> '''Wil''': Oh yeah, so I run down the thing, and I land on top of the bear, and I, like, flip in the air, and then, as I'm coming down, I sort of, like, barrel-roll a little bit, and then I flip again, and then I come down here so I land just like this, so I'm flanking this guy. Yeah, and it's super-cool! And there's rock music playing while I do it, and I'm gleaming cubes on my way there, and as I come down, I use my Avenging Echo against him... ohhh, I rolled a 1.
** In season 6, Omin rolls a 1 on his very first roll while the others roll well into the double digits. That roll being a Constitution save.
-->'''Wil:''' Is he dead?\\
'''Chris:''' No, he's just very, very unconscious. Possibly for the rest of the show.
** In the PAX East game of Season 11, Kris makes his very first roll after trying to get on the show for years... and he critical fails, meaning his character goes insane.
-->'''Chris:''' Welcome to Acquisitions Inc.!
* EvilBrit: Downplayed with Ray of Thay, TheFixer of the Baldur's Gate chapter. His British accent is more of a reference to Q from the ''Film/JamesBond'' movies, but he ''is'' also a lich (read, an evil undead necromancer who made terrible sacrifices to achieve immortality) and delights in inventing all sorts of murderous mechanisms and contraptions. Given how helpful his usual demeanor is, however, he is AffablyEvil, at his worst.
* {{Expy}}: The two wisecracking gargoyles in season 9 finale are essentially fantasy counterparts of JustForFun/StatlerAndWaldorf.
-->I bet the thief goes down in the fourth round!\\
Hah! On whom?!
* ExtraLongEpisode: The season 9 finale is over an hour longer than the previous live games had been (3 hours instead of regular 2), probably because the organizers realized that they have run late ''every time''. Before that, the season 8 finale had been 30 minutes longer than the usual episodes, but it wasn't planned to run that long (and was more than likely the final straw that led to the ''[=AcqInc=]'' regular time slot at PAX being officially extended).
* FakeOutOpening: Each episode of the ''The Series'' opens with a wonderful spoof on 80's saturday morning cartoons that has absolutely nothing to do with the actual plot of the show.
--> [[InAWorld On a planet]], between time. [[FireForgedFriends Three foes, now friends]], join forces to battle [[BigBad Arch-Thrall Molbin]] and his weird snake guys. Now that he's gone they watch over the world of ''Benetar'' using the ''[[TransformationTrinket Dragonite Amulets]]'', each granting a different aspect, of a dragon.
* FantasticRacism:
** Parodied when Viari's sword breaks.
-->'''Viari:''' Friend dwarf, do you have any forge tools? Not to be racist here, but ''your'' people carry, like, forge tools around, right?\\
'''Jim:''' Uhhh...\\
'''Omin:''' Oh...\\
'''Binwin:''' Wow...
** In ''The "C" Team'', dragonborn Donaar Blit'zen is frequently dismissive of non-dragons.
** Donaar himself is looked down on by other dragonborn clans for reasons not yet specified.
* FilmNoir: Parodied when Omin is aimlessly wandering through the city searching for a way to get his powers back.
* FiveManBand: In season 8, the party size is bumped up to five for the first time: Omin is TheLeader of the mastermind variety; TheLancer's role goes to [[spoiler:Viari, who is, in many ways, the opposite of Omin]]; Binwin, as the token brawler, is TheBigGuy; Jim is TheSmartGuy (StatisticallySpeaking); and Môrgæn is TheChick, being the TokenGirl of the series, who, in a subversion, is a sociopath rather than TheFace.
* TheFixer: The Baldur's Gate chapter has a freaking ''lich'' as their resident GadgeteerGenius and TheEngineer.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The very first time Viari is about to attack with the Apocalypse Dagger, he jokes about it probably taking his arm off...
* FormerFriendsPhoto: In season 10, the party finds a photo of Jim and his "buddy" Roger back in magical school. Roger being the guy who murders Jim on his 40th birthday (though he gets better).
* FreezeFrameBonus:
** If you stop the season 8 episode 2 intro when K'thriss selects from the chapter menu, you'll see season 6 conspicuously absent from the list--which may have something to do with it being titled "The Lost Episode"...
** The season 10 intro has a picture of Aeofel under a Missing column in a newspaper Binwin is reading.
* FreudianExcuse: Invoked but ultimately averted in season 4, when Jerry inquires about what Chris' childhood was like after some particularly unsettling encounter descriptions. Chris just chuckles, though.
* FreudianSlip: Played with during ''The Series'' Part Two, as Chris keeps mistakenly referring to the Dran Enterprises mooks as Zhentarim, the Part One bad guys. After doing this one too many times he tries to clarify that he's just screwing up and they really ''aren't'' secretly Zhentarim, but the other players say that at this point [[ThrowItIn they might as well go with it]] (they don't).
* FriendshipMoment: In part two of "The Ark of the Mad Mage", a demon-slash-familiar tries to tempt Jim (a narcissist who isn't known for very sound judgements) with promises of power and treasure, to which Jim responds by [[spoiler:grabbing it with both hands, reminding it of how it tried to kill his friends earlier, and [[KillItWithFire casting Burning Hands at point blank range]].]]
* FullBoarAction: The Ambershard clan's doorkeeper keeps a gigantic dire boar as a pet. And a mount.
* GagPenis: The whole penis conversation from season two. Apparently dwarven penises are shaped like tuna cans.
--> "When women see it, they say it's time for some more chicken of the sea."
* GermanicEfficiency[=/=]GermanicDepressives: A German-accented dwarf serves as a taciturn but effective chief of security of the Baldur's Gate chapter of Acquisitions Inc. in season 9. Scott also invokes GermanicEfficiency when he imagines said dwarf sitting with Binwin in the beholder tank, going "Now you're going to see ze superiority of our German technology!"
* TheGMIsACheatingBastard: Halfway during the ''Battlegrounds'' game, Pat realizes that guest DM Mike stacked the game with Dexterity checks in order to screw over Omin (who has a -1 in that stat), since in-universe Jim is currently mad at Omin and running the event to get back at him. Mike is also fairly blatant about how he always places the safe zones as far away from the players as possible.
* GracefulLoser: When the guys beat the Ambershards' gatekeeper, he willingly opens the only entrance to the manor and leaves.
* GunshipRescue: [[spoiler:Viari brings a gun-dirigible to the Dragonspear Castle just in time to save the rest of the party trapped there. Subverted, however, in that they (with Viari's help) then manage to defeat all enemies without actually using any of the ship's guns. They do come in handy later on, though.]]
* HasAType: Môrgæn jokes about Brath the Dragon Cultist having a type after Vandal relates seeing him with a woman who looked slightly like Môrgæn shortly before he tried "courting" her. Of course, Brath was just trying to lure her away from the others and kill her, and the woman was his fellow dragon cultist.
* HeelRealization: Scott/Binwin has a minor one in Season 5 after Jim and Aeofel act like complete assholes during the mourning of Jim's deceased grandfather.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Splug the Goblin]] comes to save the party towards the end of season 1 and goes down defending them. He bleeds out when Omin has to make a choice between saving him or Binwin.
* HighAltitudeBattle: The final showdown against the Dragon Cult and their masters in season 8 takes place aboard the Acquisitions Incorporated Battle Balloon flying through the storm of the century amidst a massive battle between metallic and chromatic dragons.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In season 9, a beholder uses his anti-magic eye to make the Acquisitions Inc.'s floating beholder tank fall down and crush Viari--only for Jim (by sheer luck) to switch Viari and the beholder's positions, crushing the beholder instead.
* HonorBeforeReason: Two uses combine in the third season. First, ItsPersonal for Binwin when the party is raiding the home of Clan Ambershard, which had ruined the Bronzebottoms. So while everyone else wants to get the treasure and leave, he leads them straight into a confrontation with Leer, the BigBad. This leads to Aeofel swearing his Oath of Enmity on Leer, and once that happens, he pursues even when (both in and out of character) he realizes it means getting separated from the team. Which ends with [[spoiler: Aeofel meeting his end in an acid pit]].
* HopelessBossFight: The first encounter with the dragon cultists in "Dragons Over Easy" is so blatantly rigged against the heroes that it was likely intended as one of these: the cultists wipe the floor with the party before they can even act, sparing only Omin, who happens to be both the leader (for whom their bloody message was intended) and party healer (who can quickly get his people back on their feet).
* HumongousMecha: The [[CanonName Mechalaster]]--the [[spoiler:eponymous Ark of the Mad Mage in season 7]]--is a giant humanoid combat robot designed by Halaster to defend Waterdeep from [[spoiler:the Tarrasque]].
* HurricaneOfPuns: All the "fey" jokes in season 5.
-->'''Scott:''' This isn't the first time I have double-teamed someone with a fey.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: Viari delivers a very elaborately veiled one in season 9:
-->"What could we do for you that wouldn't necessitate you having to replace many skilled and expensive employees? Because that is about to happen."
* InMediasRes: The ''Star Wars'' game at PAX Australia begins with the team ''already'' confronted and captured by a rival smuggler crew. Mike, as the GM, taunts Jerry that this probably wasn't how he expected things to go.
* InsultBackfire: After Chris grants Viari Inspiration for an awesome performance, Scott quips "Now he can [[DevelopmentHell finally finish]] [[Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle that novel]]!" Creator/{{Pat|rickRothfuss}} likes that joke so much, however, he doesn't take any offense.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne: Kind of. In season 6, Jim theorizes that the party is in his mom and dad's basement when they find themselves bound to an evil ancient altar upon which thousands of people have been sacrificed. It's only when they notice that their bindings are made of sinew that Jim begins to suspect that this may ''not'' be his old folks' cellar. It would seem the [[BigScrewedUpFamily Darkmagics]] are cool with human sacrifices, as long as they're kept classy.
* IThinkYouBrokeHim: In season 6, when Scott starts singing the theme song of Binwin's greataxe, Chris cannot contain his laughter and takes two attempts to return to the table and resume [=DMing=], prompting Mike to quip that Scott "broke the Dungeon Master". Something similar (sans the lampshade) happens in season 7, when Pat acts out a ManOnFire after Jim drops a fireball on Viari.
* InTheStyleOf: When Mike guest-[=GMs=] he usually twists the game into a homage of a popular video game. He's sent the C Team through a tabletop version of ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' and the main party into ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds''.
* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: For the ''Will and Testament of James Darkmagic I'' campaign, it is explained that Jim's family is not from New Hampshire, but rather the much more fantasy-sounding "Newhamp Shire".
* JerkassHasAPoint: At one point on the C-team, Donaar points out that the party has really just killed every threat they've come across so far and that they should probably begin seeking other solutions, despite him ostensibly being the least sympathetic member of the Red Larch franchise.
-->'''Ryan''': I don't know how I suddenly became the moral compass of the group.
* JustInTime: Throughout the first half of season 9, Pat agonizes over not making a single good pun while the other players seem to crank them out left and right, until he finally gets his one--literally 30 seconds before the end of the game.
* KissOfDeath: [[spoiler:Jim instantly bites the dust when he brazenly kisses the succubus that the party encounters in "Ark of the Mad Mage"]].
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: When Viari is given an invitation to design disguises for the rest of the party before a heist, he describes elaborate outfits and prosthetics for Jim and Morgaen in great detail, and then turns to Omin. "And for you, I think, a hat."
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: After Jim [[SummonMagic summons a magmabeast]], Aeofel becomes a [[BattleAura beacon of Malora's might]], and Omin declines to attack because [[NotWorthKilling he wants to save his abilities for stronger enemies]], Scott complains that Binwin's daily powers are still just [[WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer "hit things with hammer".]] He then goes on to finish off the boss they're fighting -- with a hammer blow.
* LiteralMetaphor: In season 6, the DM repeatedly describes Danielle's movements in terms normally used to describe Spiders. Wil even calls him out on this:
-->'''Wil:''' I'm just saying, you are making very suspicious choices of words... sir!\\
'''Chris:''' [[RocksFallEveryoneDies You take an extra two points of acid damage]].
* LockAndLoadMontage: An extended one in "Playing With Fire". Having just learned that they'll be attacked by a squad of mercenaries, Omin and the rest of the party tour the chapterhouse, meet their new allies and load up on cool gear with which to fight.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Played straight and subverted in the PAX Unplugged 2017 adventure. Omin, Jim and Viari have all been [[BabymorphEpisode turned into children]], and their childhood phobias have returned - but they still have the minds of adults. This doesn't stop Jim and Viari from taking off their clothes, giggling at each other, and touching butts.
* {{Microtransactions}}: Parodied during the ''Battlegrounds'' game, where Mike let the players buy chests for $5 of real money. Pat talked his way into buying an extra inventory slot.
* MobileMaze: The Baldur's Gate chapterhouse of Acquisitions Incorporated was built in a wizard's dungeon, in which the rooms can be shifted about of a square grid. However, the party are able to control the shifting and move the rooms wherever they like, which they use to their advantage during the battle.
* MontyHaul: Chris seems to have had a soft spot for Viari, often letting him get away with rule-lawyering and creative interpretations, especially in season 8. The trend seems to have reversed in season 9, however, where Viari instead became his favorite ButtMonkey, between [[spoiler:having his pockets picked by a drider (doubly insulting, as pickpocketing has been V's shtick until then), and being nearly crushed to death by the beholder tank]].
* MoodWhiplash: Not unusual for a tabletop roleplay group. A good example is at the end of Season 11 Part 1, where the party has just acquired Whelm the sentient hammer as a birthday gift for Omin and Viari (depressed about having left an NPC to fight some Ifreeti without him) is comically drunk, and Omin suddenly receives a sending from Flabberghast.
-->'''Flabberghast:''' Your sisters... are dead.\\
''[[{{Beat}} [The table goes quiet]]]''\\
'''Some guy in the crowd:''' Happy birthday!\\
'''Pat[=/=]Viari:''' ''[resumes sadly miming[=/=]playing the lute]'' Pling. Pling.
* MundaneUtility: The first time Jim, a mighty wizard capable of great magical feats, uses magic in season 3. What does he do? He closes a door dramatically.
-->'''Mike''': I'm gonna turn that daily over.
* MushroomSamba: Invoked by the players upon descending into Underdark in their beholder tank.
-->'''Chris''': There are small creatures hiding behind the mushrooms and the rock formations...\\
'''Scott''': ...and they are high as fuck!\\
'''Jerry''': They are seeing ''some shit''... Here is the reality: They're tripping hard, they're tripping ''balls''... and then a huge laser skull comes in. We need to have some sympathy for these creatures... I get on the horn, like, '''[[EvilSoundsDeep "It's cool. It's gonna be fine."]]'''
* MyFutureSelfAndMe: Discussed when the party begins to wonder why people always emphasize how much Auspicia looks like an older Omin, and speculate that maybe she ''is'' an older Omin. They agree that weird logical leaps like "maybe she's my sex-changed future self" are an occupational hazard for nerds.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Olivia Darkmagic has [[PrematurelyGreyHaired prematurely silvery-grey hair]] in her early twenties. The reasons for this are never explained, but she ''is'' a wizard of the Darkmagic family.
* MythologyGag: The giant demon statue in season 6 is a spitting image of the one depicted on the cover of the original ''AD&D'' [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PlayersHandbook8Cover.jpg Player's Handbook]] (as well as on the ''TabletopGame/{{Hackmaster}}'' PHB).
* NeverSplitTheParty: In season 3, Aeofel leaves the rest of the party behind and is promptly [[spoiler:killed by an acid pit trap]].
* NeverTrustATitle: The episode titled "[[CoolVersusAwesome Darkmagic vs. Do'Urden]]" doesn't actually feature a clash between Jim and Drizzt, as Mike steadfastly refuses to go within a line of sight of Drizzt, let alone attack him. The title was actually announced via the PAX site weeks ahead of the game, and the way it turned out is probably the main reason Chris abstained from giving most of his games official titles ever since.
* NobodyLovesTheBassist: The season 10 intro has several supporting cast members play an 80s pop rock number, during which Viari completely steals the spotlight with his e-guitar solo from Morgaen (bass), Dead Jeff (drums), K'thriss Drow'b (electric lute), and the rest. Jim immediately lampshades it.
* ObligatoryEarpieceTouch: Invoked. ''The "C" Team'', where the players have agreed to [[PstandardPsychicPstance touch their temples]] whenever their characters confer with each other telepathically, as opposed to voicing their dialogue out loud. This happens at least OncePerEpisode, if not more often.
* ObviouslyEvil: Pathos Gloomblight from season 10 is so obviously evil, even the SuperGullible Binwin sees right through it--yet Jim, being the HorribleJudgeOfCharacter he is, happily invites him to his birthday party. [[spoiler:Pathos, a.k.a. Roger, is, of course, Jim's murderer, too.]]
* OncePerEpisode: For a while after season 3, every session has had someone fall in (and in several cases die from) a pit of acid.
* OneHitKill: In the "Ark of the Mad Mage" podcast, the party encounter [[spoiler:a succubus, who kills Jim Darkmagic with a single attack. Mind you, she was only able to do it because Jim kissed her.]]
* OneLinerEcho: During the battle with the Ambershard's gatekeeper both sides go all out with taunts and one-liners, especially between Jim and their foe.
-->'''Dwarf:''' First rule of combat: [[ShootTheMedicFirst wizard dies first!]]\\
'''Jim:''' I'm not a wizard, I'm an entertainer, sir!\\
'''Dwarf:''' How's your ''death'' scenes?
-->''Then later on when the guardian's beloved mount has bitten the dust''.
-->'''Jim:''' How's ''your'' death scene?
* OrganTheft: Jokingly used when Omin gets saved by a temple priest.
-->"We had to remove your liver."
* PackagedAsOtherMedium: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fy6EjSv5i0 intro]] to the second half of season 8 is presented InTheStyleOf UsefulNotes/{{SNES}}-era ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games, complete with 16-bit pixel graphics, white-on-blue menus, OverworldNotToScale, 2D side view battles, and even a KillScreen towards the end.
* PassedOverInheritance: Most of the Darkmagic clan in season 5.
* PlayerArchetypes: Among the original core cast, Jerry is TheRoleplayer (of the Brains subcategory), Scott is TheRealMan (or at least plays Binwin this way), and Mike is TheLoonie (helped by his very late entry into ''D&D''). Wil sat somewhere between the Real Man and the Thespian, while Pat is a Roleplayer much like Jerry, which explains the two of them being so hand-in-glove all the time. It's difficult to say after just three games which archetype Morgan falls under, but Chris, judging by his decision to play [[TheAce Drizzt]] in his only outing as a player, is probably just a plain ol' {{Munchkin}} (to his defense, he does role-play Drizzt very authentically).
* PlayerPunch: In-universe, in a meta way. The [[spoiler:near-TotalPartyKill in "Dragons Over Easy"]] was obviously intended as this for Jerry -- and it connected real good, because the first thing he said afterwards amounted to "We are taking those bastards down -- and ''hard''."
* PoweredArmor: The party discovers two magical sets of these in the Baldur's Gate chapterhouse in "Playing With Fire". One is an ComicBook/IronMan-esque model that fires beams from its hands. The other ''is a freaking Beholder'', with all its abilities.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
** Used by Binwin after the villain pulls a WhoAreYou before the final encounter of the second season.
--->'''Binwin:''' We are Acquisitions Incorporated and we are here to ''acquire'' your ''ass''!
** Also, in season eight, Jim gets one (subverted in that [[spoiler:he gets killed after saying it but before making any actions]]):
--->'''Jim:''' (''to Omin'') Let me off the chain, boss. This dog's gotta hunt.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
** The first test at the ISTAR Facility in season 10 is a contest between participating interns of who can deliver the coolest catch phrase before dropping an enemy.
** Scott comes up with one retroactively for a Frost Giant who downed Viari by throwing a giant ice chair at him:
--->''Have a seat!''
** Omin gives one to an annoying maul-wielding streamer in the ''Battlegrounds'' game:
--->''Listen, I can understand the desire, and the enthusiasm, to build a global brand. [[DropTheHammer Let me show you]] how '''I''' did it.''
* {{Pun}}: As befits a role-playing table, puns comprise about a third of this show's humor. Perhaps the best one comes courtesy of Pat in season 7:
-->'''Omin''': I'm gonna part the illusory fronds [and peer out of the room].\\
''[some time later, while the party is still exploring the illusory forest]''\\
'''Viari''' (to Omin): You called me an "illusionary frond" before, and it kinda hurt my feelings.\\
'''Omin''': Well, no...\\
'''Viari''': [[IJustWantToHaveFriends I thought we were real fronds.]]\\
'''Omin''': This is about ''frondship''? [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Frondship is magic]]?
* PuzzleBoss: Drizzt Do'Urden is ''way'' above the party's collective paygrade in season 9, so [[spoiler:they instead "defeat" him by casting a simple level 1 cleric spell, Protection from Evil, to break the evil force's mind control over him]].
* RealityEnsues: A big part of ''The "C" Team'' spin-off series seems to be applying reality checks to the {{Heroic Comedic Sociopath}}y of the "A" Team, e.g. many of the NPC deaths that were brushed off or even PlayedForLaughs in the main series, from Splug to Jeff, come back to haunt Acquisitions Incorporated in some way.
* RedHerring: The intro to season 8 part 2 drops a hint or two at a possible return of Aeofel. [[spoiler:However, it's Viari who re-joins the party to save the day.]]
* RefugeInAudacity: The ''entire'' dinosaur race from the PAX West 2017 game. [[spoiler: It's not really cheating if you say "Oops" when you do it.]]
* ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated: In "Doomsgate Inn", the "C" Team encounters [[spoiler:Splug the Goblin, whom Omin left to bleed out to save Binwin back in ''season 1 of the original series'',]] now apparently going by the name "Splugoth the [[TheBusCameBack Returned]]" and still ''really'' pissed at Omin for making that particular call.
* RetCon:
** In season 8 of the show, it's Portentia who went through a dungeon and vanished. In season 10, it was Auspicia. [[spoiler: Then horrifyingly subverted when the "C" Team visited the dungeon itself -- it's possible that ''neither'' of them came back. The two women Omin has seen as his family may not be his relatives at all, but monsters from the Shardling's Wandering Crypt.]]
** In the early seasons, Omin was born and raised in the TabletopGame/NentirVale, but post-5E, he is officially a native of the [[TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms Dessarin Valley]]. [[WordOfGod Word of Jerry]] is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bqmRRBEIt0&t=7m8s literally]] that the "dark god Retcon" is to blame for this.
* RetiredBadass: Prophetess Dran, Omin's mother, is a level 9 [[ThePaladin paladin of Tymora]], who is currently an innkeeper in Red Larch.
* RuleOfCool:
** Basically invoked by Omin in season 9 part 2, when he describes the sheer awesome of the beholder tank hurtling through the Underdark with a [[SpiderPeople drider]] sitting on top of it and [[OurGnomesAreWeirder svirfneblin]] hanging off each of its eye-stalks, while [[Music/{{Steppenwolf}} "Born to Be Wild"]] is playing. Too bad they are attacked immediately thereafter and don't actually get to make this happen.
** Notably, Viari's entire fighting style relies on this to justify such things as conveniently placed chandeliers and sneak attack opportunities for combat advantage and massive damage. It helps that Chris really digs Rothfuss' deliveries.
* RunningGag:
** Plenty of examples. Jerry rolling ones, Binwin getting caught by traps, no one being able to pronounce Aeofel's name, Jim setting Binwin on fire, and Scott getting his teammates killed. In season 5, every time Jim Darkmagic's cousin Olivia makes a comment, Mike mutters "Shut up Olivia."
** Everything to do with Aeofel's fatal encounter with an acid trap and the lingering trauma from that encounter. Chris Perkins makes a point to include more acid in subsequent adventures.
** Ever since Pat joined the team, someone makes a joke pertaining to [[DevelopmentHell slow]] [[Literature/TheKingkillerChronicle writing]] at least once per season at his expense. Ironically, that "someone" is usually Scott, who has a well-known propensity for ScheduleSlip...[[invoked]]%% This tag is here so this line doesn't get tagged by the automatic Trivia parser.
** Chris using some arbitrary word like "several" or "contingent" to describe the number of guard [=NPCs=] present, and Pat immediately asking him to specify how many there are in case a fight breaks out. Also, are there any chandeliers in this room?
** At some point in ''The "C" Team'', Jerry started prefacing his location descriptions with "Imagine, if you will, a dark X...", where "X" can stand for anything, from a lake to Applebee's. The players soon picked up on this and started coming up with outrageous "Xs" to insert at comically appropriate moments.
** During ''Franchise Opportunities'', every interaction between Donaar and K'thriss calls back to when the dragonborn noble accidentally ended up tipping a dirty and disoriented K'thriss.
--> '''Donaar''': [''Bumping into K'thriss in a doorway'']: Look dude, I already told you I don't got anymore money!
** From the 2017 Twitch Con Special live game: Kate would like to remind everyone that she's playing a dog.
* SadisticChoice: In ''The Lost Episode'', when Aeofel is dangling from a rope above an acid pool where Jim is stranded, both of them almost botch a roll to [[TakeMyHand grab each other's hands]], so the DM rules that they grab hands but Aeofel has to decide whether to let go or to fall into the acid himself. [[spoiler:His phobia of acid ultimately wins over the PowerOfFriendship.]] Wil and Mike actually play this entire scene out over the gaming table.
* SecretTestOfThievingSkill: Viari manages to secure TheIntern's position for himself (where many other applicants ''died'' during tests) by pretending to show a card trick to the world-famous MasterOfIllusion Jim Darkmagic and picking Jim's ''credit'' card from his pockets while he's distracted.
* SelfDeprecation: During the 2017 PAX South game, Jerry identifies an NPC as a member of the Harpers, whom he calls a genuinely heroic group in the setting, "not like ''us''!"
* SequelHook: Set up early in season 8, even before the season's actual adventure is set up. Omin receives a letter from the Baldur's Gate chapter of Acquisitions Inc. asking him to mediate with the local authorities, so that season's adventure is essentially a detour. The Baldur's Gate story is the focus of "Playing With Fire".
* ShapedLikeItself: When Jim is trying to describe the artifact that they're after in season 3.
-->'''Zethir:''' Magic coat?\\
'''Jim:''' Yeah, it's like a coat, but it's magical.
* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/AcquisitionsIncorporated It's a table-full of geeks, remember?]]
* TheSiege: "Playing With Fire". When Omin rebuffs the Flaming Fist's first attempt at seizing Acquisitions Incorporated's Baldur's Gate chapterhouse, they come back in force, and with fire elementals to boot.
* SignedUpForTheDental: In season 9, Viari remarks that for all its flaws, [=AcqInc=] has an exceptional health care policy (mainly because Omin is a cleric).
* SimpleScoreOfSadness: Starts playing when the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxLNP8l5CSc season 8 preview]] explains how [[spoiler:the party has lost Viari]].
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: The Live Games can quickly turn into this. An example from Season 6:
--> '''Chris''': And Snarl, you know ''[Points at Mike]'', is mute.\\
'''Mike''': [[CaptainObvious Can't talk.]]\\
'''Chris''': That's what "mute" means.\\
'''Wil''': I can't believe the Darkmagics can't afford the kinda mute that talks.\\
'''Scott''': That would be a pretty shitty mute.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The first game of season 10 was composed of two mini-adventures DM'd by Mike and Patrick. In the meantime, Chris became a player himself.
* SoundEffectBleep: Only ''once'' during the entire series, which is otherwise uncensored. It was in Season 1, and it was from Scott. What was bleeped is up to debate, but it was likely a case of CountryMatters.
* StableTimeLoop: Thanks to strange non-linear magics within the "Wandering Crypt", [[spoiler: ''The "C" Team'' were able to interact with a young Omin who promised to "remember them". Not only is the team released from the Crypt by a slightly older Omin who indeed remembered them, but once Omin grew up he made sure to arrange things so the "C" Team members would end up working together.]]
* StormingTheCastle: Inverted in season 9, where the heroes start off ''defending'' their castle against a massive invading force of mercenaries and fire elementals.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Omin's sisters look very much like him in the animated sequences, right down to the way they dress.
* StylisticSuck: WordOfGod (i.e. of Jerry) is that the official ''[=AcqInc=]'' website design is very consciously of the Web 1.0 era to "evoke a very specific corporate hell".
* SurferDude: Rad Longhammer. You can't really tell from his accent that he was adopted and raised by dwarven nobles.
-->'''Rad:''' [[TotallyRadical That would be totally rad!]] Oh, by the way, that's my name: Rad.
* SurpriseIncest: "The Last Will and Testament of Jim Darkmagic I", Jim's cousin Olivia wistfully reminisces about how they [[KissingCousins "used to kiss in [Jim's] bedroom closet"]]. Later, Jim's aunt Wanda reveals [[spoiler:that Olivia isn't his cousin -- she's his ''sister''. So technically it's "[[BrotherSisterIncest Surprise Even More Incest]]"]].
* TangledFamilyTree: The Darkmagics have an [[http://archive.wizards.com/dnd/images/thedarkmagics.jpg official one]], which doesn't actually reflect the true messed-up nature of the family, however, which is revealed throughout season 5.
* TakeAThirdOption: When the rest of the party was forced to go through Viari's [=ISTAR=] intern proving grounds, one of the tests placed the party in a room full of items of varying value, and instructed them to place them in a bin, to see who could accumulate the most valuable treasure in the least time. Drizz't Do'Urden (Played by DM-On-Vacation Chris Perkins) immediatly declared that he had no less than ''FOUR'' priceless legendary artifacts on his person and simply ''got in the bin himself''.
* TakeThat: In season 6, Aeofel finds hole in the backside of a giant demonic statue:
--> '''Chris''': It seems to be some sort of anus.\\
'''Will''': Is it a living anus or the platonic ideal of an anus? Is it [[{{Politicians}} Mitt Romney]] in there?\\
'''Mike''': ''Oh'', he took it political!
* ATasteOfPower: Season 5, the last one to have been played under ''4E'', saw the party skip a lot of levels all the way to level 10, before bumping them back down in season 6, so they have only just reached level 9 again by season 11.
* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: Chris gives one to Patrick in part 2 of season 9, when [[spoiler:Danielle the Drider]] manages to pick his (and Binwin's, for a good measure) pockets while pretending to hug them out of joy (after a similar incident happened in part 1 with Viari doing the pickpocketing), and it takes Viari a full ten minutes to remember to check his gear. [[BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame Not to be outdone]], however, Viari then bluffs her into returning what she stole back to him.
* TerribleIntervieweesMontage: The Tryout videos preceding season 7, wherein Omin, Jim, and Binwin interview candidates to take Aeofel's place in the party in their next adventure. There's a few {{Expy}}s of well-known characters.
* ThatsWhatSheSaid: The joke is used on multiple occasions, usually courtesy of Wil. In particular, it's used twice in season 6, in response to Chris describing the party's current situation as a "tight fit", and then much later, by Chris himself, in response to Aeofel's "It's a pleasure to open for you, Sir" (after Jim tops his acrobatic stunt with a natural 20).
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: After Viari [[spoiler:drops a chandelier onto the last batch of bad guys]] in season 7, Chris lets him roll ''all'' of his dice at once to determine the damage it does to them, knowing full well that they won't survive this. He probably did it because the game was running late and they still had the TrueFinalBoss to beat...
* ThickerThanWater: The respective relatives of all three founding members have been the driving force behind some plot line: season 3 misadventure happens because Binwin's father stops drinking; Omin reveals in season 4 that the whole Acquisitions Inc. brand was started by him and his long-lost older sister [[spoiler:who comes back as their enemy in the end of season 8]]; and Jim's own BigScrewedUpFamily basically ''is'' the plot of season 5. [[spoiler:Viari's]] AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents, meanwhile, provide much of the humor in the Holiday Special.
* ThousandYardStare: Aeofel's memories of [[spoiler:Hell]] during the trip to the Darkmagic Estate in season 5.
-->'''Wil:''' Nam was hell. "Necromancers are dicks, you guys. Necromancers are dicks." Aeofel just stares off, the wings beating beneath him, his silvery hair blowing out behind him, a thousand-[[MediumAwareness square]] stare in his eyes. He feels nostalgia as a standard action. A single tear falls from his perfectly black, orbular eye, and turns into a diamond as the wind catches it and carries it away.
* ToHellAndBack: The entire plot of season 4 involves going to a hell plane to bring back [[spoiler:Aeofel]] from the dead.
* TooAwesomeToUse: The magical scroll in season 2 ends up not getting used despite how useful it could have been.
* TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket: Discussed. The party suffers from some bad rolls when facing a single half-orc Zhent in a BarBrawl at the beginning of an encounter. After they finally get rid of him, the main quest begins with a {{Technology Porn}}y description of the magic hammer Whelm that the party is aiming to steal.
-->'''Jerry:''' That would have been really handy with the half-orc, if we'd had that before.\\
'''Morgan:''' The whole thing was a sales pitch for the hammer! "Ladies and gentlemen, if you had Whelm..."\\
'''Jerry:''' It's like the black-and-white video part of [[{{Infomercial}} those midnight commercials]].\\
'''DM:''' ButWaitTheresMore ''[continues to describe the weapon's many qualities]''
* TooSoon: At the 2012 PAX session, an audience member warns the group to "watch out for acid pits", which prompts many utterances of this from the group[[invoked]], as well as a middle finger from Wil, whose character died in an acid pit a few games prior. This, of course, proves to be prophetic as they are immediately revealed to have triggered the appearance of an acid pit beneath their feet.
* TortureForFunAndInformation: In "Ark of the Mad Mage", a miniaturized wizard trapped in a cage is being uncooperative, so Jim holds his new pet raven up to the cage to scare the wizard into talking. [[spoiler:The raven leaps out of Jim's hands and ''eats the wizard'']].
* TotalPartyKill:
** Happens in season 1, when the party first encounters the Orcus cultists. Luckily, it proves to be a HopelessBossFight rigged against them, as they soon wake up on an altar where the cultists plan to ritually sacrifice them, and the fight resumes with (slightly) evened odds.
** Narrowly averted in season 8, when another batch of cultists nearly wipes the party out in an attempt to scare them away from Dragonspear Castle (they fail). There are strong indications that that battle was also rigged against them from the start.
** In Chris's words, "technically" happens in ''The Series'' Part 2, thanks to the combined efforts of Isohedrus the dragon and [[spoiler:an apparently post-FaceHeelTurn returning Aeofel]]. The entire party are out of hit points for about half a round before Viari rolls a natural 20 on his saving throw to stabilise, bringing him back up to 1.
* TrashTalk: Party members usually throw around enough insults and humiliations among themselves, but Chris really steps up his game in season 9 with the Gargoyles (whose jabs are mostly aimed at Viari, though).
* TurnUndead: Used by Omin in the climax of season 5 to thin out the ranks of [[spoiler:burger zombies]]. Lampooned immediately by Jim, who assumes that "turn undead" means Omin transforms into an undead monster.
* UnknownRival: ''The Series'' reveals that Dran Enterprises have their own Darkmagic wizard, upsetting Jim a lot. He then finds out that it's [[spoiler:his cousin Percival]] from season 5, whom he doesn't even remember.
* UtilityPartyMember: Played with throughout the seasons. After running into a couple nasty traps early on, Omin loudly contemplates adding a rogue to the party next--but their next hire is an Avenger, however (who has the worst luck with traps overall). Eventually, the token rogue Viari does take over Aeofel's party slot--but thanks to the new 5E rules, he more than pulls his weight in combat (and traps haven't been as common since his debut, either).
** Actually invoked during the "C" Team games - Jim has acquired a ridiculous number of non-combat spells because Mike thinks they're cool. It's how he [[spoiler: hazes the new people: trapping them in a demiplane]].
* WanderingMinstrel: In season 5, Music/PaulAndStorm, as "the Minstrels", performed the season's theme songs.
* WasOnceAMan: In season 9, [[spoiler:Danielle the Drow has been transformed into a drider by the time she meets the party again]].
* WeaponWieldsYou:
** Briefly happens to Aeofel, when he picks up a cursed sword in season 6 and loses the battle of wills against it. [[spoiler:Luckily, he manages to regain control and get rid of it before it causes any real damage.]]
** Season 11 introduces Whelm, a sentient warhammer that really wants to be owned by a dwarf and is willing to take over the minds of non-dwarves in order to achieve its goals. Omin eventually manages to snap its current host out of it and strike a deal with Whelm itself in order to safely take it with them.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Invoked by [[spoiler:the raven]] in Ark of the Mad Mage.
-->'''Jim:''' When you say that you and I can have all the treasure, what do you mean?\\
'''[[spoiler:Invisible Fiendish Raven]]:''' Halaster's treasure! It's in his ark! Need the orb!\\
'''Jim:''' (''Takes the [[spoiler:raven]] in his hands'') You and I could have all of the treasure.\\
'''[[spoiler:Invisible Fiendish Raven]]:''' Yep! You and I!\\
'''Jim:''' 'Kay. [[PreMortemOneLiner You almost killed my friends.]]\\
'''Mike:''' ''... [[KillItWithFire and I cast Burning Hands]]''.
* WhamEpisode:
** A double whammy in season 8 part 2. Not only does [[spoiler:Viari come back from his bus trip to bump the party size up to five for the first time in the series]], but Chris also does some ArcWelding to [[spoiler:introduce Omin's long-lost older sister first mentioned in season 4 -- as an evil cultist fighting the heroes]].
** "Part Two" of ''The Series''. [[spoiler:The party nearly suffers a TPK against a white dragon and are forced to retreat, Binwin is dead, and the masked man that's betrayed them is ''Aeofel''.]]
** The "C" Team ''opens'' with one, as the party realizes that Jim has somehow trapped them in an alternate dimension.
** Near the end of the "C" Team's first season, the party is suddenly confronted with the realization that the god Maelith, whom Walnut has been trained to hate for almost a hundred years, [[spoiler: is actually just trapped inside an Outside God of unknown power, who is also ''K'thriss' patron'', and is being drained of her divine power. For potentially thousands of years]].
* WhamLine:
** When Omin steps into a magical portal which requires the user to speak [[DarkSecret their deepest, darkest secret]] as an activation passcode (after the rest of the group has already gone through)... and reveals [[spoiler: the existence of his long lost sister:]]
--->'''Omin''': [[spoiler: She went into a dungeon one time when I was very young. I didn't follow after her. I stayed outside and she never came out.]]
** When the group finds the Ark in season 7, Omin asks Tymora for some spiritual guidance.
--->'''Chris/Tymora:''' I need you, Omin Dran, to fight and slay the Kaiju... or as we call it upstairs, [[spoiler: [[NighInvulnerability The Tarrasque]]]].
** "And on the deck of the ship, [[TheBusCameBack you see a familiar face]]..." And the entire theater falls silent.
** In the final episode of The Series Part 2, the masked figure the group knew as "[[Film/TheForceAwakens Kylo Ren]]" whispers to Viari as he [[spoiler:runs him through]]:
--->'''Kylo''': "[[spoiler: How does "19" work for you?]]"
** At the end of season 11 the party is already in the middle of a DownerEnding when Omin receives a message from Flabberghast [[spoiler: 'Both your sisters are dead.']]
--->'''Jerry''': You cannot leave it there!
** In the "C" Team's adventure to the Underdark with Holly Conrad, there's one for fans of the old ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' line when Omin summons Strix to the team's location... [[spoiler: by using ''damned petitioners from Hell'' to rip her out of the ground. What was in her contract, exactly?]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Omin has still not invoked his contract with Elemental Evil, several years later.
** ''The "C" Team'' has yet to resolve what happened [[spoiler: to the metallic wires blocking the route from Skolla (Paterfamilias, Part 1) or what happened to the AlternateUniverse version of Walnut (Anchors Aweigh, Part 4)]].
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->''Oh my God, you're '''horrible''' at this game!''
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